Hawk protection while run is built

[vintage]

We are currently setting posts for our run. I've been free ranging my 8 week old chicks while supervised, but on Tuesday saw a hawk scoping out the yard. I thought my presence would be a deterrent, but after some research I realized me being there doesn't matter. Hawks attack regardless. Weather was rough yesterday so the chicks stayed in the coop most of the day. Our run will be done this weekend, but I want to be able to let them out. What is a simple way to protect them until this weekend?

 

[cmom]

Make a temporary pen and cover it. A couple of times I have had a hawk come down and kill a bird right in front of me and another time grab a chick. It happened so fast I didn't have time to react. When you free range it is a risk you take and you will loose a bird/birds sooner or later. Some people go for years and then it happens. Good luck...

 

[aderenzo]

I am sick. I had two baby ducks 2 weeks old. I have them in pen with 1/4 inch rabbit wire. Well I stuck them in a cage with 1 inch wire holes in the grass while I washed out their pen. I only had them out less than an hour while the pen dried from cleaning. A dam hawk killed one right through the wire. I don’t know how but I had to chase it away. I feel so bad for the remaining terrified baby. Should I stick one of my hens with it? Or will it be ok to raise on its own? I swear the duck was almost the same size as hawk. I don’t know how I will tell my children.

 

[cmom]

It will be back.

 

[Croft5Homestead]

Hawk problems are the worst with state/government laws. My neighbor has lost 70+ assorted fowl here. In the past winter we have lost about 12 chickens to our hawks, who have decided to make a nest and prosper in our woods. Our solution for now is periods of lock up, until the hawks go elsewhere, and watched free range time, until we can expand our run. Good luck with your new buddies!!

 

[cmom]

We are rural on a dead end road but predators are everywhere. I got tired of loosing birds so expanded all of the pens out an additional 10 feet each and covered all of the pens with good heavy duty netting, put electric wires around the coops and pens and concrete under the gates. All due to losses from predators in the past and now the birds stay in their pens. Fortunately I have the space. My land is mostly open pasture so there is little shade and the birds actually prefer to be in their pens. When I have let them out they almost immediately went back into their safe pens and shade. Years ago I planted trees in all of the pens and built shade/rain tables for them to get under. Now and then I put thing out in the pens for the birds to pick at such a grass clipping, alfalfa, flock blocks, vegie plants when we pull them. Yesterday DH harvested some spinach from one of the garden beds and took what he wanted and the birds got the rest. They love spinach. I grow other greens such as collards and cut leave off of them and give them to the birds and when the collards start going by I'll harvest them and give them to the birds.

 

[vintage]

Well we finished the run last week. Problem is, my chickens love to free range lol. They tolerate the run, but go crazy when I let them free range. Nearly everyday there are various birds of prey flying around. They either hide or bolt to the coop. One was getting very close this morning so I've shut them in.

I have some pretty big hostas they can dart to if needed, my dog is usually out with us as well, so maybe that will help.